“Where were you?” a male voice exploded as soon as Jiyeong opened the door to enter the House of Secrets with Jimin. Jungkook was standing near the couch, looking like he stopped abruptly in the middle of pacing back and forth on the carpet.

Jiyeong took off her shoes. “Oh, I was…” She glanced at Jimin, wondering if she was allowed to say what had taken place.

Jimin calmly shut the door behind him. “She was with me,” he stated.

“I was so worried! Taehyung’s been telling me that you two were working on your project but then your research materials were on the coffee table and the sun had already set outside… I almost went mad!” Jiyeong winced at Jungkook’s anguished tone. He took a step towards her, but then his eyes darted to Jimin, who was right next to her.

“You act like her mom,” Jimin commented. He kicked his shoes off to the side and started walking to his room.

Immediately after he left, Jungkook walked briskly over to Jiyeong and grabbed her wrist. Without a word, he began dragging her to the hallway.

“It hurts!” Jiyeong hissed through her teeth. Jungkook ignored her and pulled her into his room, closing the door behind her. He glowered at her from above.

“Jungkook, I’m sorry!” Jiyeong cried out. “But you don’t have to be so mad about it.”

“I don’t need to be mad about it,” Jungkook repeated. His voice was chilly. Jiyeong felt worry creep into her heart.

She reached out a hand and put it on Jungkook’s shoulder. He stiffened. “What’s wrong, Jungkook? Is something bothering you nowadays?” the girl whispered.

An expression of pain flashed on Jungkook’s face. “I… I was your best friend. I just felt like you were… that you were… drifting away from me.” Even his voice was laced with pain.

Jiyeong’s face mirrored the boy’s. What he said was somewhat true – before the letter from her brother, before she came to reside in the House of Secrets, before she started school at Taejong, Jungkook had been the whole world to her. But nowadays, she had spent little time with him and was talking to either the other boys or looking for her brother. It was natural that he would feel like their friendship was falling apart.

Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him, her cheek resting on his chest. Jungkook’s eyes widened at the sudden movement and he froze in place.

“I’m sorry.” Jiyeong sounded like she was holding back sobs. “I’m so sorry. You know that you mean the world to me, right? You’re everything to me.”

Jungkook wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t live without you,” he choked out.

Jiyeong closed her eyes. He had always been her support. The only reason she had been able to be so cheerful and help the other boys was because of he had been her savior when she had been little. He was her dandelion.

“Jiyeong.” At the sound of her friend’s voice, Jiyeong lifted her head to look up at him.

“Could you… could you spend time with me tomorrow? Just one day.”

At the pleading tone in his voice, the girl couldn’t say no. Everything could wait one day. She needed to catch up with her best friend.

A smile crept on Jiyeong’s face. She felt like a heavy weight had disappeared from her shoulders. Today she could spend the day as her real self, not Jiyeong the boy. And her best friend would be beside her the whole time. It had been so long since she felt so carefree and relaxed.

Jungkook grabbed her hand and pulled her into a store at Insadong. It was the one with the photo booths where friends or couples could dress up in traditional Korean clothes and take sticker photos. With a laugh, Jungkook placed a headband with dangling beads on top of Jiyeong’s head. Jiyeong rolled her eyes, but a soft smile crept onto her face.

As Jungkook put on a blue boy’s hanbok, Jiyeong chose a pretty pink girl’s hanbok with a green skirt. Inside the booth, they took the first photo smiling and the rest making funny faces. One of the pictures was of them laughing with tears in their eyes from the hilarious pose Jungkook struck in the photo before.

As soon as the photos developed, the two split four tiny photos, taking two each. Jiyeong put hers in her pocket, promising herself that she would keep this for the rest of her life. It was be another of the wonderful memories she made with her best friend.

While Jiyeong was walking in the streets of Insadong, she noticed that her friend had disappeared. Furrowing her brow, she scanned the passersby, wondering when and where she had lost him. Then to her relief, she heard Jungkook’s voice from right behind her.

“Don’t turn around. Close your eyes.”

Jiyeong burst out laughing. “Hey! Stop ruining the moment.” She could hear the half-exasperated, half-amused tone in his voice.

She felt something around her neck. Looking down, she was greeted by a small raindrop with a smiley face. “It’s adorable!” she cried.

Jungkook appeared in front of her. He was beaming at her reaction. Then his expression turned serious. “Whenever you’re down and I’m not there, you should look at this. It’ll remind you to keep smiling even during painful times.”

Jiyeong bit her lip, fearing that she would start crying, which would be so unlike her. “Thanks,” she murmured.

‘You don’t need to give me anything. You’re already in my heart, helping me silently during hard times.’

Jiyeong opened the front door to the House of Secrets. She bowed to Jungkook. “Gentlemen first,” she joked. Jungkook laughed and entered.

As soon as she followed, she spotted Jimin standing in the living room. She mentally face-palmed herself. She should’ve been more careful; what if Jimin heard that comment?

“Where did you guys go?” Jimin nodded to the books on the coffee table. “I thought we were working on the project.” The second part was directed to Jiyeong.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Jiyeong squeaked. She had totally forgotten to tell her new project partner that she would be out the whole day. She started for the hallway. “Wait here, I’ll be right back. I made some notes on the topic.”

As she marched forward, a small piece of paper fluttered onto the floor.

In a flash, Jimin picked it up. He glanced at it and his jaw dropped open. “What… what is this?” With trembling fingers, he held the paper up so Jiyeong could see.

Jiyeong felt her heart drop. She and Jungkook were smiling from the tiny piece of paper, wearing traditional Korean clothes.

Hello once again, readers!! I hope you guys have made a wonderful transition into spring or the second semester (if you are in school).

Love to hear your thoughts on the latest update!!!! :D